Alan Maldonado
/Alan Maldonado
From a young age the show Dragon Ball Z had captivated me so much to the point that I felt compelled to create my own battles between two stick figures. Drawing became my muse and form of escapism throughout grade school. By the time I graduated Highschool I took it upon myself to buy an anatomy book focused on figure drawing to take my skills to the next level. Upon my arrival at George Mason I realized there was so much more to learn and I saw the opportunity I had to grow as a fine artist. After my first year, I decided to switch my concentration from drawing to graphic design, as I acknowledged I had absolutely no digital art skills. As a fine artist, my line work does most of the heavy lifting, my style varies from cartoony, realistic, and a mixture of both. As a designer I enjoy using expressive typography, dynamic angles, and opaque or saturated colors.My goal is to place my artwork out in the real world. Specifically, in unconventional places or areas where you typically wouldn’t see artwork. Placing my work in a context such as a subway station creates a mysterious and alien effect which fits a lot of the visual design you can see in my work. I create posters that have a futuristic and extra-terrestrial tone them.
“Influence” is a story about my journey in the workforce. The narrative is told visually through photography and typography. My first few jobs were primarily in food service where I was paid astronomically low for the amount of arduous labor I provided. Following the pandemic I was let go from my retail job and ended up working mall security, a field of work I never anticipated. After half a year of working I transferred to Tyson’s Galleria where the pay was significantly higher.
Not only was the pay higher, but so was everything else. Price ranges of 5k to 20k, countless entitled characters, transactional relationships, body modifications, all the stereotypes I only saw on the internet we’re walking right in front of me.
My book aims to capture my thoughts and perceptions of transitioning into this type of environment and how I came to terms with it. My goal is to have anyone vicariously experience my journey and to have a small window into the world of High Fashion Retail.
